International Break Preview: Messi's Farewell, Spain-England, USA-Mexico, More

International soccer is back, and the World Cup stars are heading straight into a new World Cup cycle. The first international window since the World Cup is a three-week break in which countries can play up to four matches each, and most soccer leagues will not resume until Oct. 9. The Nations League competition begins Thursday, qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations starts, and several new national team coaches take charge of their team for the first time. Lionel Messi has one game left for Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo is still in Portugal's squad, and the U.S. and Mexico are using the window to give opportunities to teenagers. Messi announced his retirement from international soccer after the World Cup, and Argentina's federation organized a farewell match for him on Oct. 6 against Benin in Buenos Aires. Arranging it took work. The federation had to find opponents willing to travel to Argentina and deal with a FIFA punishment for the behavior of fans and players at the World Cup, which limits Argentina's first match of the window, and possibly the second, to half of a stadium's capacity. Messi finished the World Cup with eight goals, did not score in Argentina's last three games, and lost the final to Spain. He is expected to appear only in the Benin match. The two games before it, against Bolivia and Burkina Faso, will be the first look at Argentina without him. The question for Lionel Scaloni is who takes the No. 10 role? Portugal is the reigning Nations League champion and Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, is in Portugal's squad for new coach Jorge Jesus's first games, starting Thursday at home against Wales. New coach Jorge Jesus replaced Roberto Martínez and has kept most of the group that lost in the round of 16 at the World Cup. Portugal lost to eventual champion Spain in the World Cup. Ronaldo started at the World Cup, and some pundits have called for Portugal to move on from Ronaldo. He has scored three times for Al-Nassr this season. Ronaldo has 146 goals for Portugal, and is 21 short of his stated goal of 1,000 career goals. Portugal's other two opponents in group play are Norway and Denmark, and the Norway matches put Ronaldo opposite Haaland twice, first in Norway on Sept. 27 and then in Portugal in early October. Spain is the team to beat as the Nations League begins, and its opener is a trip to Wembley on Saturday to face England in a repeat of the Euro 2024 final. Spain won the World Cup this summer by beating France in the semifinals and then beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time on a goal by Ferran Torres, and it conceded once in eight matches. The core of the squad has barely changed since Euro 2024, with World Cup golden ball winner Rodri, Marc Cucurella, Pau Cubarsí, and Barcelona standout Lamine Yamal still operating as the base of the team. The main risks are complacency and keeping Yamal content. The Barcelona forward arrived at the World Cup after a hamstring injury and has said he was not fully satisfied with how he played. England finished third at the World Cup, its best result in 60 years, but the squad will have some new faces, including Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cole Palmer, who many believed should have been at the World Cup. After Spain, England travels to Czechia and Croatia and closes the calendar with a home match against Czechia. Kylian Mbappé won the World Cup Golden Boot with 10 goals and became the first player to win the award at two World Cups. Mbappé also became the tournament's all-time leading scorer with 22 goals. France opens the Nations League on Friday at Türkiye, the first match for Zinédine Zidane as coach. Mbappé remains captain, but he missed training Tuesday with flu-like symptoms and has not been ruled out. France plays four matches in 11 days: Türkiye, Belgium on Sept. 28, Italy on Oct. 2 and Belgium again on Oct. 5. Erling Haaland had an unforgettable summer in the States as he scored seven goals at his first World Cup, leading Norway to the quarterfinals for the first time before losing 2-1 to England in extra time. Haaland looks to lead Norway to more history as the nation now plays in the top division of the Nations League for the first time. It hosts Denmark on Thursday in Oslo and hosts Portugal on Sept. 27 before playing at Wales and at Portugal in early October. Haaland has 62 goals in 55 appearances for Norway and scored seven goals in his first seven games for Manchester City this season. Jürgen Klopp and Xavi Hernández both make their debuts on Thursday when Germany visits the Netherlands. Klopp is taking his first national team job after Germany's exit in the round of 32 at the World Cup. He named an extended 44-man squad that will be split across two groups for this block of four matches. Hernández will have longtime Netherlands captain Virgin Van Djik, but has left off former national team regulars like Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst from his first roster as the boss of the national team. France icon Zidane replaces Didier Deschamps, who coached France for 14 years and won the 2018 World Cup and runners-up in 2022. Zidane's first 23-man squad includes five players earning their first and leaves out N'Golo Kanté. The opening matches include two Nations League catchups against Belgium, coached by Mark van Bommel, and one against Italy, coached by Roberto Mancini. Both teams who also under new management. Mexico's Rafael Márquez debuts Saturday against Colombia in Baltimore. Mexico also plays Peru in New Jersey, the U.S. in Phoenix on Oct. 3 and Chile at the Rose Bowl on Oct. 6. Speaking of El Tri, the USA and Mexico meet Oct. 3 in Glendale, Arizona, looking toward the 2030 World Cup after co-hosting the previous edition of the tournament. Mauricio Pochettino, who signed a new contract through the next World Cup, left Christian Pulisic off the roster and named a group that has no one over 30, 12 players who could make their national team debut and seven teenagers. Pochettino has described the window as a different approach, since the World Cup is four years away, and it also looks toward the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The U.S. plays Peru on Sept. 26 in Orlando, Chile on Sept. 29 in St. Louis, Mexico on Oct. 3 and Canada on Oct. 6 in St. Paul. 16-year-old wunderkind Cavan Sullivan is the name that stands out on Pochettino's latest roster. The Philadelphia Union midfielder became the second-youngest American to receive a senior call-up after Freddy Adu, and has agreed to sign with Manchester City when he turns 18 and his teammate Mathis Albert is the other. The 17-year-old Dortmund winger became the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga at 16 years and 340 days and has the least senior experience in camp. Mexico has 11 players who are 23 or younger, including Gilberto Mora, who is 17 and the youngest in the group. Hugo Camberos is the 19-year-old Chivas winger receiving his first senior call-up. He and fellow Chivas teenager Santiago Sandoval combined for seven goal contributions as Mexico won the Concacaf under-20 championship in August and qualified for the 2028 Olympics, and both are regular starters for Chivas. Márquez was recently spotted at a Chivas training session and has called up six Chivahermanos in his first camp, coming off a summer where the Guadalajara-based club was the backbone of the national team with five players called up during the World Cup. The North American giants begin a new chapter this weekend.